This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in

history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,

dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better

understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!

I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.

The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,

and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior

monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Rainy day, wrench away

The other day it was raining. That's not a big deal really, but it was a particularly sucky rain. You know the kind with 25mph winds freezing it in the air and and seemingly blowing it right through impermeable pvc rain capes. So I wussed out and went to the garage to get caught up on some wrenching activities.

First I had a few ideas for my Nouvo-Retro Trek.

Since I had gotten the Hunqapillar, the old dog had taken a back seat and not been ridden as much.

I took a look at why. The Trek is an old "sport" bike made for the triathalon boom back in the 80's.

You know, when frustrated over aged jocks relived the glory days of school by pursuing new recognition through the individual torture of swim/ride/run stuff.

The task I gave myself was to make the Trek more comfortable for all day riding.

First I changed out the normal wide range freewheel

for a Shimano "Mega Range".

I lost 4 gear inches on the high side and gained a huge bail out 34t cog on the low end.

Kinda makes sense, I swallowed the ego and faced the fact that I'm nearly 60.

I also raised the handlebars to be level with the seat

(a position I gotten used to with the Hunq).

To do that I bought an $18 stem riser, which is simply a stilt for the existing stem.

I dpn't want to commit to a new stem until I try this out.

I took the fenders off because, as cool as they looked, it was a tight fit and this bike will never be an all weather ride again. I also have a use for them on an upcoming project.

I added an old Pletscher rack I had on my folder. I think that will make it more useful, perhaps for an overnight credit card weekend, or at least stopping at the store.

But I had to create a new bracket since the original hardware is lost somewhere.

At some point this winter I'll take that off and paint it to match the frame.

So presumably having made ole reliable into a more useful and comfortable ride,

I moved the dyno powered light to Byron, the city boy.

He'll be getting most of the mileage this winter and I will feel better having a reliable light on him.

My son has a talent for destroying "flashy things." I bought him a new "Super Flash" for his

commuter but I have to ask,

if they produce such a great and popular product including all these mounting options,

why don't they include one to mount it to a rear rack?

I spent the better part of the day piecing together scraps to mount this to the back of plain aluminum rack

which has about 4 inches of mounting area.

You'd think something that simple would occur to them.

Over all it was a productive day and I decided to get out for a cup of coffee and a break to surf the web.